Buffy: The Slayer Vampire
by Callace
Summary: How could late S 6 Spuffy have been if Buffy became a vampire? And how would the Slayer getting turned affect the other scoobies, and Dawn? This is my attempt of figuring this out. Set after Hells Bells.
1. Chapter 1

Willow thought this day couldn't possibly get any worse. It had started out so great. Xander and Anya were getting married, there were guests and cake and a fuss of getting into their dresses and remembering everything there was to do. A good kind of fuss. Then when all was finally ready, and everyone sat on their chair, waiting for the ceremony to begin, Xander of course had to get cold feet and run away!

She shook her head. She should have foreseen it. She had known Xander all her life, seen how his family treated him, and known his fear of ending up just like them. She wondered if there was anything she could have done to prevent this embarrassing catastropy. Been a bit more observant to him over the last couple of months. Talked to him about his parental issues. Or maybe warned Anya about those. But no, she decided there was no use in blaming herself for any of this. She had had plenty enough with her own issues. With overcoming her addiction to magic. With the faint hopes that Tara might soon take her back. She couldn't run her friends' lives, when she was just starting to manage her own. No, what had happened was entirely Xander's fault. He was the one that screwed up, and was to be blamed for all of this. That this didn't become a day of happiness, was entirely his fault, and his fault alone.

Now she realized that she had thought herself into a far to agitated mood to have any hopes of sleeping. So she decided to rather go out to the cemetaries where Buffy was patrolling, and see if she needed any help.

She put her coat on, collected a stake, cross and crossbow, and went out the door. The cold night air was whiskering past her face, as she strode quickly to the cemetary she assumed Buffy had gotten to by now. She couldn't see her. But a far distance away, she could hear the delighted growls from a vampire feeding off a victim. Without thinking, she hurried off in that direction, hoping against hope to get there before it was too late. To draw the vampire's attention away from the girl he was feeding off, she shouted at him, telling him that he had a few seconds to get away as quickly as he could, before she'd stake him. He straigtened up, and she noticed how remarkably tall he was. Tall and muscled, all though the rest of the vamp, his dark clothes and dark hair, was well concealed in the darkness of the night. Willow was almost starting to regret her heroic interference. Taking on such a huge vamp on her own? What was she thinking?! But then, slowly, it seemed like the vampire decided to take her threat seriously. He turned back, and ran. In a queer, bent over way, almost limping, like he had decided not to take this fight because the last one he was in had nearly done him in already. She walked up to the place he had been feeding, and looked down on his victim. And froze solid. No wonder this girl had been able to fight back. It was Buffy!

Right there, on the ground. Bruised and bloody, but otherways surprisingly pale. Her chest not moving. No breath. This was the one battle she had really lost. Willow had thought this day couldn't possibly get any worse. She was wrong.

She bent down, and lifted Buffy into her arms, intending to carry her home. But she was so heavy in this totally limp form, and Willow started to doubt that she would have the strength to get her all the way back to Revello Drive. Not by herself anyhow. She needed help. From someone living close enough for her to carry Buffy there. There was really only one choice. She headed for Spike's crypt.

She knocked forcefully on the door, really hoping he was home despites the hour. Noone came. She put Buffy down on the ground, because her arms were starting to ache, and knocked again. After a 

few minutes, just when she was about to lose hope, she noted with relief that someone was on the move inside, and then the door opened.

"Red?" Spike asked, when he saw her standing outside. "What's up, that brings you here at this hour?" Then his eyes moved down to the corpse at her feet, and he staggered, abruptly losing the glass of Jack Daniels he was holding on to, so it shattered on the floor on his side of the door. He stepped over the pieces of broken glass, and bent down to cradle Buffy in his arms, already sobbing, so that his tears fell down into her open, spread hair. He saw the bitemarks on her neck, and looked up at Willow in fierce fury. "Did you see who did this?" "No. it was far away, and in the dark." Willow replied, but upon seeing the force of Spike's fury, she hurried to add as much as she could about the vampires looks. "He was tall, and looked well muscled. But injured. She got in a number of blows before going down, I guess." "Well, not enough"Spike muttered. "But if I ever come across this tall, injured guy, he'll learn what real injury is!!"

A few days later, life in the scoobie club was still in total turmoil. Giles had gotten on the first flight back from England, the moment he had heard that Buffy was dead again. Noone could handle having the body in the house, so they had decided to keep her at the morgue right up intill the funeral, which was to be in yet another couple of days. Spike had dropped by, and announced that he had staked a vampire fitting Willow's description, who had been over at Willy's, boasting about killing the Slayer, otherways very little had been said or done, other than what was needed for the funeral. Willow had tried mentioning that they should be happy for Buffy, since she was probably back in Heaven. But noone could seem to find much solace in that.

Dawn had been tossing herself around in bed all night without sleeping a minute, which had become her habit these last days. She had never thought she would be losing Buffy again so soon. And this time, even without the lame comfort of the Bot. But at least now it was not her fault that her sister was gone. That helped a little, that this grief at least wasn't mixed up with terrible guilt. This one had just been another patrol, a way she could have lost Buffy any time, during the last couple of years.

She couldn't stand her bed at nighttime. Laying down in silence for that many hours brought too much thinking. Too many harsh facts, which there was no distraction from, not even a loud television. Finally, she couldn't take it any more, and decided to go for an early morning stroll, to clear up her head.

She ended up, not surprisingly, at Buffy's old grave, which still stood there, and soon would be filled up again. But what was surprising, was that she was not alone there. Sprawled over the patch of grass in front of the tombstone, where the hole Buffy had climbed out of had been refillled with dirt, lay Spike.

"Spike?" she ventured, startled. "the sun is up soon!" He looked at her, with tearful, empty eyes, and replied "I know. Vampires can sense the sunrise way before it comes" "then you need to go home! Right now!" He looked at her, still with this empty gaze, but now with a streak of sympathy in it. "I am sorry you had to see this, Niblet". Then he laid down again, spread in front of the tomb, facing away from her, towards the horizon, where the sun was about to come.

Dawn got up to him, took a step back, and kicked him solidly in the back. He jumped up and turned towards her, yelling "what the bloody hell was that all about?" she tightened her fists, and breathed hard, while snarling. "You son of a bitch! You're leaving me too, huh? I could have expected that from anyone else, but not you!" Spike's face softened, and he moved in on her, while making a feeble attempt to explain. "I love you, Niblet. You know I do. But I just can't stand going thought this again. I've delived her body to you guys, done in the bastard who did this to her, and now… there is nothing left! Just the same empty void as was here the last time she was gone. And the knowdledge that I could have prevented it"

"You could?" Dawn asked. "Were you with her, on that patrol?" "No!" Spike snapped, with such force that Dawn jumped back, startled. "But I damn well should have! It was on my cemetary, I should have heard it, should have known that she was in trouble, and come out to help! When I instead just stayed home and drank the whole bloody night, feeling so sorry for myself because she dumped me, not doing anything before Red nearly knocked the door down" His voice broke, and he started sobbing feverishly. "…and it was too late".

Dawn looked at him though this whole speech, with the same cold fury in her eyes, and when he was done, she sneered "Well, you are not exactly making any progress away from that attitude now! Standing here, feeling oh so sorry for yourself, not giving a second thought to the fact that someone still needs you!" She walked all up to him, and hissed into his face "At least the last time she died, you found it worth the effort to stick around with me. But I don't mean a thing to you anymore, do I?" Then she turned around, and walked hastily away, yelling back at him, with a voice about to break into sobs. "So just stay. Burn for what I care. And wallow in the extra self pity of how disappointed Buffy would have been in you right now!"

Spike only hesitated a moment before he yelled after her "Niblet! Don't go. I'm coming!" She turned back towards him, and they ran together towards the closest mausoleum, just as the first rays of sunlight reached over the horizon. Dawn slammed the door shut after them, and they sat down together inside, holding each other, and cried into each others shoulder.

An hour or so later, Willow picked up the phone at Revello Drive, and got some disturbing news. There had been a break in at the morgue, and Buffy's body was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Willow put the phone down, and took some deep breaths. Ok, try to regain control. Handle this. But why did problems have to come in such heaps? She was already worrying sick about Xander, who had run so far away from his bride that noone had been able to find him since. She had just had to hope that he would show up again in time for Buffy's funeral, and move on with the preperations for that. But now, those preperations had upgraded to including searching for and retrieving the body they were to bury!

Damn! Why would anyone want to steal Buffy's body? What kind of sick joke was that? Unless… No. She didn't want to think about that!!

Right then, she was relieved to be saved from her ponders by the bell. The door went up, and in came Xander. With a goofish grin on his face, and arms stretched out to meet her in a hug, while saying "Hey, Willow! I'm back!" They held the hug for a few seconds, before he broke it and asked "where is Buffy?" Willow winced, and then scowled at him. "If you hadn't taken off like a frightened chicken, and stayed away for so long, you would have known! Buffy is dead again!"

"What?" Xander muttered in shock. "Buffy? Dead? Again? For real this time?" "that is the thing I am wondering about" Willow replied, deciding to voice her concerns sooner, rather than later. "There was a break in at the morgue, and her body is missing. Only I wonder, if it might rather have been a break out. Done by Buffy."

"A break out?" Xander said, puzzled. "Like, breaking out of her own grave again? Willow… have you done something you promised to never do again?"

"What?" Willow was deeply offended. "you mean like resurrecting her again?" Xander just kept staring sternly at her. "Of course I didnt!" she yells in frustration "I would never do that again, and I thought you knew that! If Buffy was back in Heaven, I would have been happy for her!" then she calmed down a little, and continued in a weaker, more shaken tone "But I don't think she is. She was killed on patrol, by a vampire. And I am starting to wonder if he might have sired her. I think her worst nightmare can have come true. That she has become a vampire!"

The next night, Spike was on his way over to Willy's to get a drink. He had been thinking about what Dawn had said to him all day. She was right, of course. He had been a self indulged git, who Buffy would have been very disappointed in. It was time to get a grip on himself, and go on with his unlife. Taking care of Dawn, like Buffy would have wanted him to. And stake vampires to her honour. But all that could be done later. Now, he just desperately needed one more drink, to dull the pain just a little.

On his way in, he paid so little attention to his surroundings that he bumped into a big darkhaired vamp who was headed out with his girlfriend. Before he had time to react, the bloke had grabbed him by the throat, and tossed him out into the back alley, taking some menancing steps out towards him. Spike got up, and flashed his fangs, ready to take the fight, but then he looked up at the other's girlfriend, who came out to check out the commotion, and froze in his action.

"Buffy?" he gasped, hoping his voice could carry that one word. She had frozen in her spot as well, and her man gave her a questioning gaze "Spike?" she muttered, in almost the same wondering voice 

as he had. They shared a moment, before he tried speaking again. "But, you are dead!" Buffy chuckled, and slipped into game face. "Yes I am. But no deader than you."

Then she turned to her companion, and answered his unasked question. "Drummond, this is Spike, We used to date for a while." Then she turned to Spike, who was still totally out of it, and continued the introductions. " Spike, this is Drummond. My sire."

"What?" Spike muttered, then pulled himself together and put some more strenght to his voice. "And I was so sure that I had staked that bugger who did this to you! Guess I was wrong."

Buffy's sire laughed, and nodded. "The one you took out the other night was probably my cowardly minion, who ran away in the middle of my rather memorable encounter with the Slayer. He knew I was gonna come after him for that as soon as I felt up to trashing someone again, so I guess he was trying to take the credit for the kill, so that he could assemble his own gang of minions and face me." He chuckled some more, and shook his head. "Guess I should thank you for averting that plot. But really, I feel more like kicking your ass, for interviening in my business, and not letting me get the honour of killing them myself"

"Fine by me" Spike retorts, with fangs out and fists clenched. "I am dying to kick your ass too! Preferably kick it all into dust!" With this, the two vampires clashed into each others, with growls and bites, kicking and hitting, untill Spike produced a stake from a pocket in his duster, and drove it throught the other guy's heart.

Out of the dust, he could see Buffy stepping into the scene of the battle, fangs out and fists clenched she too. She looked angry. But there was something else too, in those weirdly amber eyes of hers. Something he was hoping he was reading correctly. "So" she said "you done him. Care to have a go with me too?" She didn't give him any time to reply before she hit him square in the face with her right fist, making him stagger back for a moment before he could return her swing, with a powerful lunge at her head. She ducked away from the somewhat predictable blow, and made to kick him with her right foot. But this time he was a bit more prepared, and caught her foot in mid air, throwing her against the wall of the bar. She looked at him, and smirked broadly, as she got up into standing again, and saw him approach. She grabbed his head, moved in on it, and gave him a solid, hard kiss, which they now could keep going for quite some time, since neither needed to come up for air. Their fangs were still out, cutting into each others tougue and drawing blood, which they drank from each other's mouth.

When they finally broke apart, Buffy panted with pleasure, and asked "I want a house to demolish! Where can we find one?"

Willow had been thinking all day, and now it was already way past bed time. If she was to tell Dawn, it must be soon. She had been telling herself that all she had was a theory, that for all they knew, Buffy could be safe and well in Heaven, and that there was therefore no reason to disturb Dawn with these things she had been thinking about since she got the call from the morgue. But she had come to the conclusion that Dawn needed to know. If Buffy really was undead, there was a good chance that she would be looking her up soon, and then the youngest Summers needed to be prepared. And if she was totally dead, then this was anyway something that needed to be attended to by the full 

scoobie group. Someone stealing the Slayer's corpse could no way in hell have had any good intentions.

So now she sat there, on the couch, with an increasingly impatient teenager, and tried to find the right words. "Dawn. We had a call from the morgue this morning. About Buffy. Her body is gone." Dawn just looked at her, clearly baffled, and asked "Gone how?" "We don't know" Willow admitted. "But she was killed by a vampire, so there is a good chance that she has…" She couldn't bring herself to say it. But Dawn could. "Risen? As a vampire?" she started trembling, and got up from the couch pretty abruptly, muttering "damn!" under her breath, and ran for the stairs, to her room. "It is just a possibility, Dawnie!" Willow yelled after her, not knowing what more to say.

Spike and Buffy lay on the floor of an old warehouse downtown. They hadn't found any house in need of being brought down, but this could do for their purpose. They were both panting and sweating, and still closely huddled together, at the moment just gazing at each other.

"I am so glad you're back, Buffy!" Spike panted. "Real sorry that this happened to you, but so glad you are back!" "I am not" Buffy replied "…sorry. You were right, in what you told me a while back, that becoming a vampire is a profound experience. That getting killed can really make one feel alive." Spike looked at her, baffled, still needing a little time to catch up with this new Buffy. "And imagine, how much I used to fear this in life" she mused on. "Thinking it would be a fate worse than death. While that's not the way it is at all. In fact, I find it rather… liberating." Spike involuntarily twitched at this choice of words. "Liberating". That was the word his mother used, in describing how she felt as a vampire. In her case, this meant liberation from him. Was this Buffy's meaning too? All her requests for him to get out of her life ran throught his mind. And that was said while she was human. If she now had been "liberated" into vampirehood, would she dump him for good? Was this thing now just a "one last time" before she went into the night looking for someone, anyone else, like Dru had done?

Buffy seemed to sense his tension, bacause she cuddled even closer, and elaborated her statement. "Now, I am free. Free of rules, free of responsibilites. Free of life. Like you said, back when you couldn't see me, there is another word for that. Dead."

Spike chuckled and relaxed a little. She smiled and continued. "All those times you kept telling me how great your world is, and tried to take me here. You should have picked up the courage to go all the way!" Spike tensed up again, and broke away from their intimate embrace. He looked down, and started muttering something, half way between an explaination and apology. "You didn't want it then.," "Hush" Buffy put a finger over his lips and smiled. "It's ok. You couldn't kill me. I am not holding that against you in any way. Just pointing out that it would have saved us a lot of trouble."

They laid next to each other for a long while after that, staring up into the ceiling, each lost in his or her own thoughts. Then Buffy asked "how is Dawn?". She turned to him and asserted, more than asked "I trust that you looked after her a little after my death, like you did so well the last time. How is she coping with my death?" Spike pulled himself together not to reveal to Buffy how much it had rather been Dawn taking care of him the last time he saw her. He already had a faint feeling that he might have disappointed her by not having had the guts to kill her. It really wouldn't do much good 

to let her know that he had even hardly had what it took not to off himself after she was gone. "She's hanging in there" he replied. "She's devastated of course. Misses you. But she's getting through the days."

"I miss her too." Buffy confided. "I want to go see her." "I am not sure if that is such a good idea, pet" Spike protested. "She has just gotten the news that you are dead, she'll know what you are. She might not feel all comfortable with you."

"She likes you" Buffy argued. "Despites what you are. And I can't imagine going thought the rest of my unlife without her in it. So please take me to her." She gave him a pleading look, and he melted. He had never been good at resisting what his girl wanted. So if her desire was to go home, then that was where they were headed.


	3. Chapter 3

Buffy and Spike didn't get off to Revello Drive untill the next evening. the night they had spent together in the warehouse had already gotten old by the time they had decided to make the trip, and when Spike had put his head out and smelled the weather, he had found that the sun was too close to come for them to make it safely all the way there, and back again, in case Dawn refused to allow Buffy access to the house.

Once the darkness once again allowed them to get out, and they were on their way, it was no longer possible to hold back the anxiety they both felt about what was to come. Spike decided to just jump into it, to get the issue dealt with. "So, when you see her, what are you intending to do?" Buffy gave him an uncertain look. "I don't know. You will introduce us, right? Tell her I am not dangerous… to her?" "Of course" Spike assured her. "But then what? Are you gonna be, dangerous? Do you want to bestow the same immortality on your sister as you have gotten?" "Hmm." Buffy frowned, and pondered deeply. "I don't know. It would seem like a great gift to give, wouldnt it? And keep us together eternally. But Dawn is a child. I am not sure I want her to have that kind of feelings for me as a vampire has for her sire. That's just… not the way I love Dawn." She stopped talking, and walked further down the road, still pondering hard. Then she continued, hesitantly. "I love the warmth of her embrace. The rhythm of her breath, her heartbeat. I don't want to change a single bit of her" She gave Spike an insecure glance. "Is that weird of me?" "No" Spike assured her, shaking his head. "She has that effect on me too. That sister of yours has her own way of bringing out the softness in a fella. Makes you want to protect her, rather than eat her. It's a weird thing, indeed. But that is just the way it is. She is unique!"

They approached the house, and stood for a moment outside the door. Spike reached out his hand to knock, but changed his mind, and just walked in instead, leaving Buffy at the doorstep. He found Dawn in the living room, doing her himework. He walked all up to her, and looked over her shoulder at the books she had open. "Trig, huh? Giving you a headache?" "You bet!" Dawn moaned. "I never want to see another triangle in my life!" Spike chuckled, and replied "Then shut your books, and come with me. There is someone outside, who is desperate to see you."

Dawn gave his a questioning look, shut her books, and followed him out in the hallway. There, she froze to the spot, upon seeing who it was who was waiting for her. The two Summers sisters stared at each other for a moment, intensely, then Dawn whispered, almost to herself "Buffy?!" Buffy smiled uncertainly, and replied, in a voice loaded with emotion. "Hey Dawn." Dawn kept staring at her, took a step back, and continued, still almost more to herself than to her sister. "Willow said you might come. Said you had turned, and was likely to come after me." She looked up, and braced herself, for the first time speaking directly to Buffy. "Stay away, demon! You are not gonna get to hurt me!" At this point, Spike interfered, pointing out that "Buffy may have turned, but she does not want to hurt you. We have talked about this a lot tonight, Buffy and I. She loves you. She just misses you, and want to come in and talk to you again. You can safely invite her in"

Dawn looked at him, in deep scepticism. "Sure about that? Buffy always warned me about letting demons in the house. " She gave both of them a stern look, and added, in dripping sarcasm "and when I said I never wanted to see another another triangle in my life, I didn't mean that literally. I want to live long enough to at least finish my homework…" "And I want that too!" Buffy insisted sincerely, cutting her off. "I swear, I don't want to hurt you, Dawnie!"

"And as to the rule of not letting demons into the house" Spike interjected "Buffy has been known to make exceptions from that rule. Remember the first time we met?" He gave Dawn an encouraging look, trying to get the point across. "When I came to your house to help save Rupert, and the world? Buffy didn't hesitate then, with the invite" Dawn didn't respond to this, but he could see she was thinking. He completed his point. " And that functioned pretty fine, didn't it? So why won't this too?" Noone said anything for a moment, but Buffy and Spike could see Dawn's composure and determination starting to waver. She gave her sister a long gaze, but made no move to invite her in. Spike continued his speech. "You know Buffy loves you. Even more than I do. This is gonna work out just fine." Dawn looked at him, clearly listening, so torn that Spike judged it safe to go for the finish. "Come on!" He said impatiently "Let's not make any more show for the neightbors. I'll be around all the time, watching over you, and if it doesn't work out, you can just ask Willow to do a deinvite." Dawn gulped, and then nodded. "Ok. Come in the house…" another gulp "…Buffy."

They walked into the living room, and Buffy cast a glance at Dawn's closed school books. "I am glad to see you don't skip your homework any more Dawn" she said, conversationally. " I don't." Dawn muttered, warily. "I have really tried to be good this time, cope better than last time you went away. No ditching, no stealing." She smiled, insecurely, and looked up at Buffy. "Good." Buffy nodded. And then added, in a sympathetic afterthought. "Although I fully appreciate how boring that can get. All the time living by the rules…" This statement really did not make Dawn feel any better, and upon noticing that, Buffy instantly shut up, and fell silent, while searching for another topic.

Spike had up untill now kept in the background, but now he came up to them, asking "Do you want something to drink? Dawn, limonade? And Buffy, I mean to remember that I still have a few of my packs stashed here." The girls just looked at him, not answering, and he took their lack of objections as consent. "I'll go fetch some then." With that, he disappeared into the kitchen, and came back with three cups, limonade for Dawn, and pig's blood for himself and Buffy. Dawn eyed their cups, visibly uncomfortable, as they sat down on the coach, drinking.

Then the door went up, and Willow poked her head in, smiling and asking "Who have you got for visit, Dawn? I heard something." Then, she caught eye of Buffy, sitting in her coach drinking blood, and her jaw dropped!

They stand/sit there staring at each others, in more and more pressing silence, untill Dawn was close to breaking down in tears, jumped up, whimpered "I can't take this!" and ran up the stairs. Buffy and Spike got up as well, and took a few steps towards Willow, who kept staring at them, clearly flustered. "Buffy… you're back!" she said, with an awkward smile. "Yes, I am." Buffy replied. "Much to your dismay, huh?" "Of… of course not. I am happy to have you back, Buffy" Willow stuttered in fear. Buffy smirked and approached closer, then she grabbed Willow by the throat, and pinned her against the wall. "Don't lie to me! You told Dawn that she should not let me in. You nearly ruined things for us. Now that's not very nice, is it?"

Willow squeaked something from beneath Buffy's throttling grip, and she realeased it a little, smiling , like she was in a normal conversation and had just not been able to catch what Willow meant to say. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?" she asked, with mock politeness. Willow coughed, trying to get her breath back, and croacked "I wasn't trying to hurt you, Buffy. I just wanted to do what was best for Dawn. What I thought was right" "I see." Buffy replied, in a cold leer. "Prim, proper Willow. Always doing what's right. Eh?" she cocked her head, and smiled menancinly. " this Willow is no fun. 

I liked Vampire Willow so much better, from how I remember her!" "You remember Willow as a vampire?" Spike asked in confusion. "Yes." Buffy nodded, turning to Spike to explain, but still holding Willow fixed up against the wall with her hands. "There was a spell she and Anya did, which went wrong, and brought Willow the vampire here from another dimention." She stood still for a little while, enjoying the memories. "She was really something. Way better dresser than our version. Good at bullying minions, and always up for fun and action." She sighed. "I miss her. I am sure we would have been great friends". She turned her face back to the Willow she had pinned against the wall, who was now visibly shaking with fear, and vamped out, as she concluded "I think I want her back with me." Buffy… please!" Willow stuttered, and wriggled the best she could, in an attempt to break free from her. Buffy smirked, and moved in on her.

Then, suddenly, she felt Spike's hand on her shoulder, pushing her away, and his voice sounded next to her. "Buffy, I don't think you should do that." She gave him a questioning look, and he continued, feeling sure that he now had her attention. "Not that I mind that plan personally, of course." He assured her, throwing Willow a hungry gaze."Would have turned her myself, years ago, if it wasn't for my little handicap. But your chances at making things right with Dawn gets totally buggered up if she finds Willow's body here shortly after she let you in."

Buffy nodded, cast a long glance up the stairs to Dawns room, and loosened her grip on Willow, who fell back against the wall, putting her hands to her newly released throat, and gulped for air. Buffy hoovered over her, still in game face, hissing "Ok then. I won't hurt you. But then I want you to promise not to hurt me either. No little plots to stake me, or come between me and Dawn." She morphed back to human face, and changed her voice to chipper. "Ok?"

With this, Buffy left the living room, and started walking up the stairs. Willow got herself trembling to her feet, and threw a dirty look at Spike, who still stood in the room. Then she went straight over to the weapons trunk, and started rummaging around in it. ""You two just made a truce, haven't you?!" Spike reprimands her. "No good way to start it, going straight for the weapons trunk!" "She's up there, with Dawn." Willow snorted." She might hurt her. I got to do something." Spike walked all up to her, and slammed the trunk lid shut, almost over her fingers. "Bullocks!" he growled. "Didn't you see what just happened here? Buffy could never hurt Dawn. She wants nothing more than to regain her trust, and be able to keep protecting her. The little Bit is perfectly safe with her around!"

Buffy opened the door to Dawn's room, hearing loud music coming out from her sister's CD-player, and seeing her laying on the bed, clearly crying, and with a cross and a stake held firmly in her hands. Upon seeing her sister come in, she abruptly sat up, wiped her tears away and held out the cross in front of her.

Buffy went and turned off the music, and then she sat down on the far end of the bed, and smiled insecurely. "Thank you for inviting me in" she said softly, and tried catching her sister's eyes. Dawn shook her still tearwet head, and continued holding the cross stretched out in front of her. "I probably shouldn't have. You're not my sister. You're a demon!" Buffy sighed, and replied, a little more sharply than she intended. "Well, technically, you are not my sister either. You are a lump of energy." Then her voice softened, and she continued. "But I still love you like a sister! I miss you, I worry about you, I want all the best for you." Dawn gave her a look of disbelief, but her attention was caught. "And I will love you for ever" Buffy continued. "Nothing, can change that! Not even death."

Dawn started shivering. Her tears kept pressuring to come back. She wanted to believe what her sister was telling her. Wanted it so badly. Could it possibly be true? Well, as Spike had been telling her, back at the door, there was only one way to find out. She put the cross and stake away, and crawled into Buffy's waiting embrace.

About half an hour later, Buffy came back down in the living room, where Spike waited. She smiled, and looked so relieved that he knew instantly that the sisterly get together upstairs had been a success. She looked around and asked "Where is Willow?" "She went out." Spike answered. "I think you creeped her out a little to much to want to stay now before." Buffy nodded, and sat down on the couch next to him. "I have been thinking." She said, looking into his eyes. "About that little handicap you referred to back then. I think I might have an idea as to how to get rid of it"


	4. Chapter 4

"Yes. Agent Finn. Riley. Tell him we need some help with Spike's chip."Buffy was talking in the phone, putting up her most professional voice, and listening sterny to the questions from the other end of the line, while trying to explain. "No, his chip!" New comment from the other, which Buffy answered with rising apprehension, "Well, maybe he used to work there, and then got transferred?"... "Ah, don't give me that "flower shop" crap again. Just give him the message, ok?!"

She turned to Spike, who was waiting nearby, and smiled. "At least they hadn't been alerted of my recent death. If that really was Riley's communication center, he'll hopefully get the message, and love me too much to not send someone to help." They shared a conspiratory look, and smiled at each others.

At the same time, Tara sat at her desk in her dorm room, trying to study, when someone knocked on the door. Outside was a highly disturbed Willow. "Can I come in?" she asked shakily. "Of course, Willow" Tara said, lead her ex girlfriend to the bed, and sat down on it with her. "What is the matter? Have something happened to you?" Willow just sat there, seeming unable to speak out her issues, just gave Tara a desperate gaze. "Is there anything I can do?" Tara asked, uncertainly. She still loved Willow, and was greatly disturbed by seeing her in this shook up condition. "Any problem you need handled? Any monster we should go out and kill together?" She tried sounding highly energized, to show Willow that whatever it was, she was up to it. But Willow just looked down, and continued shivering. Then, finally, she muttered "Buffy".

"Aww, of course" Tara mumbled, taking Willow into her arms. Buffy's death had already brought them closer together again. It was here, to Tara, Willow had gone for comfort after leaving Buffy's body with Spike, trusting him to take it home faster and safer than she could. They had spent the whole night just crying, in each others arms, and talked about Buffy. Her life, her death, and her probable eternal bliss in Heaven by now. Tara reckoned that it was another such night Willow needed now. She quickly learnt that she was wrong.

Willow broke away from Tara's embrace, to look her in the eyes, and started telling. "It turns out she is not exactly in Heaven. She was at our house tonight, talking to Dawn, and then nearly sank her fangs into me!"

Tara gave her a look of utter shock and confusion, and just sat there for a little while, her mind racing. "S…so she's a vampire. Wow! And invited into your house. By Dawn? How is Dawnie now? Is she … bitten?" Willow looked down. "I hope she is ok. I didn't get the impression that she was going to bite Dawn. It was all weird… But it seemed like the only reason she didn't go through with biting me, was that Dawn wouldn't like it. She wouldn't have cared about that if she was going to kill her too, would she?" Tara nodded, still working on processing what Willow was telling her. "So then" Willow continued, looking down at the bedsheet, "She let me go, and I went here. I am sorry to have to burden you with all of this, I don't want to be a burden, especially since we are not together anymore and all that, but…" Tara took her hand, and forced Willow to look at her. "Will, stop rambling. You can always come to me with your problems! I still care about you so much, and always will. And I will help you through this, as well as I can." They hold each others gaze for a good while after this, and Willow shed another tear, which Tara reaches out a hand to wipe away.

"Now, let's look at the problem at hand." Tara said, after having gotten her thoughts more or less in order, after Willow's bout of information. "Buffy is a vampire. She has gone evil, and you want her back to be your good friend again." Willow winced at this short and direct summary of the situation, but nodded. "I know the proper thing to do would be to stake her. But I can't bring myself to do that. I couldn't even stake myself as a vampire. I take it staking my best friend will be all the more impossible."

"Hmm" Tara nodded. "But that will only be necessary if we cannot think of a way to turn her back to good." She smiled, and sent Willow a knowing look. "Willow, doesn't this remind you of a situation you told me about before?"

Willow took only a second to catch up with her ex-girlfriend's point. "Of course! Angel. The redoing of the soul curse! But…" she sighed, and the enthusiasm left her. "That orb of Thesula went missing. And the Magic Box don't have such in stock for the moment. Getting another one might take a while. And you know I can't do magic anymore. It is too dangerous, even doing it for Buffy." "But you remember how to do it, right?" Tara asked. Her enthusiasm was not wavering. "Then you can teach me. And I am sure Giles or Anya can put the orb on express delivery, due to the exigencies of this situation. Who knows, maybe Giles even has one more left, laying around somewhere?

Buffy's request was answered with a return call the next evening, telling her that Riley had got her call, and asked some of his old Initiative friends to come check out her problem. They had arrived and were right now headed for the old Initiative facilities, which were not quite as sealed off as they were intended to be. They had agreed with Buffy to bring Spike over there, so that they could check out the problem, down in the medical lab.

Buffy turned away from the phone, as she put it back on the reciever, and gave Spike a wide grin. "They're coming. A soft plea from his old darling was all Captain Cardboard needed, to arrange a full aid squad." She laughed, and grabbed his arm, leading him out of the door, while adding "This is gonna be easy!"

They came to the old Initiative facilities at about the same time as the soldier squad, who, to Buffy's slight relief and disappointment, only consisted of three soldiers and a doctor. They greated each others with a nod, and went inside to find the right lab. When they got there, the soldiers and Buffy stood nearby, waiting, while the doctor put Spike on the operating table, and checked on his chip. He soon came back telling that the device may have some minor problems, from old age, but nothing serious enough to make a real issue. So he asked Buffy to specify what, more exactly was the the problem she had called in about? Buffy smiled, and replied, with a heavy touch of sarcasm: "The problem, doctor, is that it's keeping him from killing people!".

As she spoke, she morphed into game face, and quickly turned to face the soldiers, spinning around to the entire circle of them, hurriedly hitting and kicking the weapons out of their hands, and them to the ground. She then turned back into her human visage, while she collected the weapons, and twisted the necks of the knocked out soldiers, to make sure they were properly dead. Then she left the guns in a pile, except for one, which she pointed at the now terrified doctor and smirked. "So now, doc, I suggest that you take care of that problem, won't you?" He looked slowly from her to the dead soldiers, to Spike, and slowly shook his head. "I am not gonna help you do any more evil, Hostile!" "Hmm, not the answer I was looking for. Didn't I ask nicely enough?" She gave the doctor a wry smile, and then looked comtemptously at the gun in her hand. "These things…" she pointed out, more to herself than to him, "…never useful!" She threw the gun away, and approached him menancingly, grabbed his arm and gave him a cold smile. "You are afraid of ending up like them?" She gestured towards the soldiers. "Then let me tell you, they got it easy. Remarkably easy. There is a whole lot of ways to die in, and most of those are not as pleasant. At least not those I can come up with." She gave him a menancing smirk, and chuckled a little. "You know, there is an advantage to being a Slayer before becoming a vampire. I know a lot about violence. In lots of different ways, and more methods than you can imagine. And I am all to willing to test those on you. But we Slayers also have a strict code of conduct. Slaying is for enemies, not for good people. So if you are a good boy now, and do as you are told, we might let you walk out of this place. Do we understand each others?"

They stood for a good while like this, Buffy holding the doctor's gaze firmly with hers, before he finally nodded, and was let out of her grip and escorted to the operating table, where Spike still laid. Buffy stood behind him, and made sure he did it right, as he slowly got the chip out of Spike's head, and patched him up. Then he walked a little away, and mumbled "there, the job is done, so then I can go, right?" "Just a moment", Spike replied, standing up from the table, and rubbing his head. "got to check if you filled your end of the deal first." He walked up to the terrified man, quickly catching up with him when he tried to run, and hit him solidly over the head, so he fell back on the floor. "Congrats doc!" he smiled in delight. "The pain is gone! You have done your job. You are free to walk out of here" He turned to Buffy, casting her a knowing look, and getting a conspiratory wink back.

The doctor picked himself up, cast one last glance at the vampires behind him, and ran for the door. As soon as he was out of it, Buffy walked up to Spike, and said "so, he has walked out of here. We kept our part of the deal. Now, do you want the honour? It hasn't been too long to remember how to do it, has it?" Spike cast her a quick look, and chuckled. "Don't worry pet. That is not something a vampire is likely to forget!" "Good." Buffy smiled broadly, as they ran after the fleeing doctor, who never got any much further. "But this calls for a greater celebration. Want to go to the Bronze tonight? We could dance, listen to the music, and have ourselves a really good meal"


	5. Chapter 5

The night was still young when Buffy and Spike entered the Bronze, hand in hand, smiling and looking around at the crowd at the club. They came onto the dance floor, and soon started moving with the rythm of the music, holding each others close. Spike looked down at Buffy's head, resting at his shoulder, and couldnt help thinking about another time he was here to dance and eat, a year ago, with Dru. How endlessly different that had felt. Back then had been a goodbye. A last outing to have have some fun. Solace, before turning her down to get to the one woman who really mattered more than anyone else by then: Buffy! Now she was the one who danced here with him, holding on close, occationally scanning the crowd for a good meal, basically having the same kind of fun as he and Dru had had back then. The thought made him dizzy, it was unbelieveable. When Willow had come to his doorstep carrying Buffy's dead body, he had thought this was the end of the world. Now, it had turned out that it was only the beginning. It was truly ironic, really. He had spent the better part of the year trying to convince Buffy that she belonged in the shadows, with him. Without succeeding. It was almost humiliating that it had to be some other bugger's fangs that finally got her here, got her right where he wanted her. He silently berated himself for not trying this easy way to go from the beginning. There had been moments, in his crypt, when they had been at it all night, and she had passed out from exhaustion, that it would have been very easy. Just find the right grip, sink his fangs into her neck, and exchange blood with her. But the more he thought about it, the more he knew that he could never have done that. For one thing, sireing was an unpredictable thing. When she lost her soul, she might as well become even meaner, and he couldn't bear that. And secondly, even if everything had worked out fine, just the moment when she woke up, and found out what he was doing, wouldn't be to live with. Even if it would just last for a second, untill she was dead and his, seeing that pain and shock and sense of betrayal in her eyes was something he just couldn't stand.

He was brought out of his train of thought by her hand gripping firm fingers around his chin, and moving his head a little, while laughing. "Are you even listening to me?" she chided cheerfully. "I said, what do you think of those two?" She had turned his face in the direction of a young blonde couple, looking vaguely like them, standing at the edge of the dance floor, clearly wondering if they were gonna move onto it or not. "They don't look like they are entirely comfortable here. What do you say we ask them if they want to leave with us and get a bite somewhere?" She smirked deliciously, and he couldn't help to bend down and kiss her, before lauging with her, and agreeing that that sounded like a real good idea.

The other couple were more than willing to come, seemingly happy that someone else had come up to them and offerend to take them along for something. The girl had already just recently told her boyfriend that this place was making her nervous, and that they should find another. The suggestion from these two strangers to go eat sounded like a good one. That was, untill they got out into the back alley, and their new friends got all distorted in the face, and grew fangs. They were just going for the kill when there was an unfamiliar voice ringing out through the alley. "Hey, back out, pull in you fangs and leave them alone, ok?"

Buffy and Spike turned around in surprise, and looked at the newcomer. A small, brown haired girl, standing there in clear fighter stance, with a stake at ready. Spike laughed in delight, and willingly let go of the the blonde girl, who ran in panic. "And I thought this day couldn't get any better." He looked the girl straight in the eyes and smirked. "A Slayer! It's gonna be such a pleasure dancing with you. Let's make it last long!" Then a flicker of insecurity hit him. Buffy had used to be a slayer. How was she coping with this? Did the situation make her uncomfortable? Did she find his enthusiasm over this new opportunity for a good fight after so long inappropriate? This new girl was a colleague. Would she like to spare her? He turned around, to gauge her reaction, and just when he did that, the new slayer used the opportunity to charge forward, and aim her stake at his exposed back. Bufy' saw what happened, and cried out "Spike, look out!" while throwing herself at him, and bringing him to the ground, turning around in the same motion, to kick the charging slayer away.

The other girl scrambled to the ground, a few feet away, but managed to hold on to her stake. Her face however, had gone pale with dread. "Spike?" she whispered, still audible. "William the Bloody, who has been responsible for more massacres than most other vamps, and killed two slayers in the past?" Then her face stiffened in grim resolve "I am so gonna nail you!" Spike grinned broadly, and straightened up in pride "You've done your homework, cutie. Aww, it's so good to know I'm still famous." "And even better to know that you'll soon be dust!" The slayer replied challengingly. "And after that, your pretty little girlfriend will be easy prey, I'd figure." Buffy squinted up at her. "So you haven't heard of me? Damn, then you couldn't have read those watcher's diaries as well as you seemed to. Or maybe you just havent got the latest edition?" Buffy gave her a mocking smirk, and savoured the news she was about to break to this poor girl. She knew that what she was about to tell her had been among her own worst nightmares when she was this girl's age. "Then allow me to introduce myself. Buffy Summers. Previous vampire slayer. About to give you the same status" Whatever colour had been left in the new slayer's face was gone now. She stared wide-eyed at Buffy, and shook her head in paralysed shock. Buffy used the opportunity to go after her, kick the stake out of her hand, and grab her by the neck, pinning her to the wall of the building behind them. She moved in, and sank her fangs into her.

Then, after just one sip, she pulled out, and gave Spike an apologetic look. "I'm sorry honey. I forgot that you wanted this to last for a while". She threw the slayer aside, and lined up against the wall herself, like in spectator mode. "Thanks dear" he smiled back at her, before focusing on the poor girl just getting herself up from the ground. "This is gonna be a show worth watching." The slayer visibly shivered, and looked desperately around for her stake. "But we might want to wait for a little while, so the poor thing can get back to her senses." He added, in a snicker. "wont be a good dance without two active parties"

Buffy nodded, and then grew very thoughtful for a moment. She walked up to the new slayer, who had now just reclaimed her stake, from behind a dumpster, and was holding on to it for bare life. "How come you got called? The last time I died, I didn't get a replacement, since Faith was already activated." The girl in front of her looked scared enough to just answer without thinking. "The Watcher's Council. They wanted to regain control of the situation, after both you and Faith had been outside their control for too long. So last week, they sent out their wet works team to kill the active slayer. Since she was already in prison, it was easy to cover it up as a response to rebellion, and get the authorities assistance in putting her down." Her expression hardened into a vindictive smirk. "The Council is really tired of rouge slayers. When I tell them about your condition, I am sure they will apply the same heavy amount of resources on some highly determined vampire slaying." Buffy smirked back. "Well, then let's not give you the chance to tell them, then. I really never liked those people!" She looked back at Spike. "Are you ready, honey?" He nodded, and stepped up to them. "Sure!"

Buffy pulled back to watch the fight between Spike and the slayer, with a satisfied smile on her face. Watching Spike fight, with all his old grace and skill, and without the paralyzing pain from the chip holding him back, was a true delight. He was a master of the art, now finally free to dance their mortal dance once again. There were kicks and punches flying through the air, leaps and quick turns, untill he finally got in a decent blow to her stake-arm, and sent the weapon flying through the air. Then, when she, like an obvious amateur, turned to make a dive for the missing stake, he came at her from behind, grabbed her into a death lock, and started drinking. Only to move out again when she screamed too loud for comfort, and snap her neck instead.

Buffy smiled broadly, and walked up to him with a lusty look in her eyes. "You know, I never realized that while I was one. But the blood of a slayer is a really powerful afrodisiac!" He smirked back at her, in proud satisfaction, and looked down at the limp body still in his arms. "So glad you got a chance to notice that too! Let's bring this treasure to somewhere more private!"

They found an empty broom cabinet close to the back door of the Bronze, and laid down the body on the floor. Then Spike took Buffy's hands, and pinned her against the wall, while kissing her hungrily. Theny they swapped positions, so that she was was holding him up against the wall, and then they sank down to the floor together, next to the dead slayer, in the limited space in the room, while fighting with each other's clothes to get them off. Somewhere along that process, Buffy chuckled and said "you know, with this effect from the slayer's blood, it is a darn shame that I never let you taste me while we were at it before. It gives quite a boost". He looked at her, slightly insecure, and chuckled back, hoarsely. "Not like we needed it, exactly." Buffy smiled happily, and nodded in consent. "True. But it is still something we neglected to do. Now, sadly my own blood is tainted with demonic energy, but…"she smirked nastily, and dragged the dead body up against her, ripped up great open wounds in the previous slayer's skin with her fangs, and smeared the blood coming from them over her own breasts and abdomen. "Now, please" she purred seductively. "drink my slayer blood!"

When they finally got redressed, and got out from that room, the night was no longer young. It was getting rather mature. They made their way through the club, with rumbled clothes and messy hair, hoping not to draw too much attention to themselves. That wish was forgotten when Buffy got a closer look at one of the pretty little things with long brown hair that was dancing rather suggestively at the edge of the dance floor. Dawn!

Buffy rushed over to her, and Dawn, seeing this, excused herself from the boy she was dancing with and turned to face her sister. "Dawn!" Buffy scolded. You said you were gonna stay in all night! You lied to me!" Dawn gave her an all over, gleefully taking in Buffy's rouge appearance. "There was nobody home, I got a call, and decided to go out and have some fun. So what? It certainly looks like you had some!" Buffy pulled back an inch, clearly somewhat flustered, but then went on. "I'm an adult! I can take care of myself…" "And I cant?" Dawn snarled, and pulled out a good size cross from under her blouse. Buffy jumped back to avoid getting burnt by it. "See?" Dawn smirked in satisfaction. "I'm fine." Buffy covered her hands with the sleeve of her sweater, and then hurriedly grabbed the oversized chain on Dawn's cross, pulled it up over her head and trew it away. "No, you're not." She replied in forced calm. "And count yourself lucky it was I who did that, not someone who wanted to hurt you!" She took in her sister's frustration, and her voice got softer, nearly pleading. "There are so many nasties out there, and I can't be around to look out for you all the time. I don't want you to get hurt! Please just come home with me." Then adding, in a slightly harder tone "I won't let you hang out alone in the night!" Dawn gave her an intense look, and commented, in mock frustration "Damn, you're evil!"

They walked home together, the three of them, talking about this and that, and kept a look out for what might be hiding in the shadows. Then they locked themselves in, and Buffy gave Dawn a close hug and said good night.


End file.
